Male circumcision - cultural, religious, social and medical apsects

Male circumcision is currently being heralded as the new \'fix\' to the ongoing HIV/AIDS pandemic—termed a ‘prevention technology’. Randomised clinical trials are taking place in the developing world, which are touted to support this practice becoming a new population health intervention to be ‘rolled out’ as soon as possible. Observational studies suggest a more mixed effect. The science supporting such research is narrowly conceived and ignores the profoundly cultural and deeply symbolic nature of this practice and its great variability from culture to culture and place to place. Anthropological and sociological perspectives have had little voice in the HIV/AIDS investigation of male circumcision, and this has resulted in a neglect of the cultural, ethical and moral issues surrounding the practice, including the understanding of informed consent. More recent critical sexuality theory, new research on masculinity, and the growing agenda of men’s health have yet to engage the circumcision and HIV/AIDS debate also. The result is a quarantined ‘technology’ that ignores the social, cultural, political and religious contexts of the practice and its consequences over time and in specific places. This paper considers some of these issues and outlines an agenda for further discussion, debate and research that must occur before male circumcision is deployed as an HIV prevention strategy.


Conflict of Interest: None disclosed
Financial Support/Funding: None disclosed
Recorded: Sydney, Australia, April 2007